Dialogue Editing

320 THE MIX
Dolby SR The only surviving analogue format, except for mono, is Dolby
SR; it requires the most exotic mastering process. During the mix, and later
in cinema playback, it’s a 4-channel format but the four channels are stored
on the fi lm print as a 2-channel analogue optical track. In North America,
this 2 : 4 : 2 print master format is called “Lt/Rt” for “Left Total/Right Total.”
In Europe, it’s called SVA, for “Stereo Variable Area.”
Since this encoding process uses phase information to guide sound to the
correct channel, the mixer has to listen to the playback of the decoded Lt/Rt
to make sure there are no unexpected imaging gifts. Many mixers will mix
the entire job through the Dolby matrix so that they’ll always be certain that
all sounds end up where they should. A Dolby SR Lt/Rt print master is
usually recorded to a DAT or DA-88, depending on the needs of the lab that
will shoot the optical negative. Dolby Digital is a discrete format, so no matrix
is required. The print master is recorded to a Dolby-owned magneto-optical
recorder. SDDS and DTS each have their own special mastering requirements,
so if a fi lm is to be distributed in several release formats, separate print
masters are needed.
International Version (M&E) Once the native language mix is complete, it’s
time for the international mix. Wherever possible, this is a combination of
SFX, Foley, and music stems, plus whatever you were able to extract from the
dialogue during the premix. Many dialogue-based sounds in the fi nal mix
can’t be salvaged for M&E, usually because the dialogue steps on them (how
ironic that dialogue editing requires excising nonverbal sounds from the
track, while in the international mix it’s the words that ruin everything). The
sound effects editor will undoubtedly have to add many new effects to cover
the loss.
It’s much more effi cient to create the M&E mix just after the main mix rather
than weeks or months later. The sound crew is still assembled, the elements
are easily available, and the supervising sound editor and mixer are
familiar with the fi lm’s quirks. Moreover, the automation is still loaded in the
console and whatever outboard kit was used for the main mix is still
connected.
There are times, however, when the international mix has to wait, usually
because the production has spent its last cent on the mix and the lab, and
they’re waiting for a foreign distributor to commit to the project. Only then
will the M&E mix take place. It’s an ineffi cient way to work, but at times it’s
the only option.